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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1985)
Restaurant owner critical of hospital’s plan By Wayne A use Of Mm Knur aid Lenny Nathan does not hate Sacred Heart General Hospital. "In general, I think they're a good hospital. 1 like 'em." But, Nathan says, "It ain't the Pope standing over there blessing me, either." The lease on Lenny's Nosh Bar, Nathan’s restaurant, expires in March. Although he is not cer tain, Nathan believes Sacred Heart, which owns the property, will not renew his lease. In fact, a little over a year ago. "they tried to kick me out ahead of time." he says. "Now. after they tried to get me out ahead of time, what would you assume when they can legally and with no problem get me out? They're going to get me out, right?" Nathan says. Nathan moved to Eugene from San Francisco to years ago to open a restaurant and bar with his son. but the deal fell through and Nathan decided to open a place of his own instead. In March 1979, Nathan began selling food in a cubicle he named tunny's Nosh Bar, tucked away in a little courtyard on 13th Avenue near the University campus. "I knew I had seven years, but 1 thought they would renew (the lease)." So he bought a beer and wine license, bought out his neighbor's lease and expanded his restaurant to twice its original size. Nathan spent nearly $40,000 with the expectation of being able to stay at his present location for longer than the original lease specified. When neighboring Sahalie Natural Foods made a deal with the hospital to move across the street so that Sacred Heart could use the space for parking. Nathan reacted positively. He approved of the way Sacred Heart helped Sahalie move to such an ideal location.; "If I'd known that one was available. 1 would've grabbed it in a minute," he says. But when the city of Kugene started its new parking plan in the University district two years ago, the event triggered a reaction from Sacred Heart that cast a shadow on Nathan's hopes for the future. “This all started when the city came up with that new parking plan, it's all with different letters on your car, and you can park two hours.. .that’s when this whole thing came up, after that. We were doing fine un til then," he says. What followed was a complicated series of events based on a dispute over leasing rights to The Courtyard. Nathan explains that the original lease holder on The Courtyard, Frank Mowreader, fixed up the area and of fered subleases to Nathan and other businesses. But when Mowreader's own four-year lease ex pired, he failed tc renew his option within the legally specified tbua. The catch, Nathan says, was that Mowreader continued to offer subleases to people wan ting space in The Courtyard past the time when his own lease had expired, and Sacred Heart approved the sub leases anyway. But in May 1984, when faced with a perceived parking crunch. Sacred Heart decided it should stop leasing The Courtyard to Mowreader and transform the site into a parking lot, Nathan says. "Boom, they sent out eviction notices,” Nathan says. "I said no. I went over and told 'em. ‘Hey, 1 ain't going.' ” Lenny said he told Sacred Heart officials that they approved Mowreader's sub-leasing The Courtyard without his having a lease of his own — in effect saying . that Mowreader did have a lease. - "Otherwise, how could he lease The Courtyard out and they (Sacred Heart) say,.‘all right’? They screwed up." Nathan says. "What it all boiled down to was that legally Sacred Heart would have had a real fight to get us out, so they dropped it.” . Sacred Heart has not told Nathan that he will be evicted, but because hospital officials still contend more parking is needed, it appears that it is only a mat ter of time before before the restaurant is removed. "They haven't guaranteed me that I've got to get Photo by Kirun Stallwood Umny Nathan, owner of Irony's Nosh Bar, fears that Sacred Heart General Hospital, which has expressed a need for more parking space, has no intention of renewing his lease when it expires in March. out, but they’re not talking about renewing the lease, and the lease is up. What else I gotta know?” Nathan says. Nathan emphasizes that he has no hard feelings toward Sacred Heart. "This is not Sacred Heart’s pro blem. I’m not saying that they owe me anything. 1 don't blame them for anything. “The only thing I have to say about this whole situation is that 1 don’t think they really need all this parking. I think that's a lot of bull,” he says. "I don’t see the need for parking with all the parking there is in this structure across the street. How much do they need for Christ’s sake?” Nathan says the best possibility for saving the restaurant would be if the city of Eugene stepped in and barred the hospital from demolishing The Courtyard. There also is a chance that Sacred Heart might back off in the face of poor publicity. “They’re very sensitive to bad press. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars getting good press,” Nathan says. “You see on television. ‘The hospital with a heart,’ or ‘The place with a heart,’ and how wonderful they were to this little girl that was in there having a baby or whatever. You hear that on TV. I’ll go on and I’ll tell ’em, ’They threw me out.’ ” Nathan says he appreciates the support University students have shown his restaurant, although he doubts how effective their efforts to save the popular eatery nave Deen. “I don’t even know what they're doing, really. They’re»a little bit disorganized I would say,” Nathan says. "Christ, they had some kind of benefit a while ago and people were coming around here asking me. ‘.Where is-it?’ It was supposed to be at Animal House, but there was nobody there. They-were advertising it on the radio and it wasn’t there.”' * . . .. ■ • . ■ Nathan says he understands the anger, many . • students feel toward Sacred.Heart. “You find a place that's got a little atmosphere for yourself ip youf spare ,‘ time, a place where you feel comfortable to hang out and meet each other, and they're going to tear it down and put in a parking lot. .That wduld piss me off.'toc.”. In his view, the reason Sacred Heart Wants to tear „ • down Ijenny^s N'osh Bar is "not entirely because of the ' parking situation. Part of the reason is the "nature of the place. •. . % ' . • . * "I've got the wrong kind of place for-them ”They don't like this; it’s too funky. I'm sure they would much /ather see ‘VVendy's here than I^eriny's because that's their mental attitude over there ". ' Regardless of the reason,.Nathan is convinced that Sacred Heart will hot let him stay on its property. And in the future. Nathan says he is .not .sure exactly what Will happen.*1 ." .. ... • "I don’t kno\y anything for sure, but'Ldon’t think I want to relocate, That would be the end of it°1f 1 can t, stay here.” If he 4>d relocate, Nathan says it would probably ” ’ in Kugene somewhere; ”1 might do it here because I have a certain following that I could naturally ' capitalize on.” But. he adds, “I don’t .want to go into ° debt for another 30 or 40 grand.” At present , Nathan still has three and a half months to sell Lenny’s where he is.now. But at age 65, Nathan figures he will probably have to begin .relying.on ihe government for his income-. Nathan clearly is not happy about the prospect, but he hasn’t lost his-sense'of humor about it either.’ ' * . '• • “1 wish I'd stayed in California when you get down to it now. In o|her words, I really didn’t set myself up too good for my old age," Nathan says. “As it is. I’m going to be living off Social Security, which means I’ll have to start eating dog food, you know.” Police beat A suspect entered the shower room at Adams Dorm Dec. S at 9:20 a.m. A woman in the shower room chased the suspect, who fled on foot. He is describ ed as a white male, 30-40 years old. 6 feet, 165 pounds. He was wearing a blue baseball hat, blue jeans and a blue jacket. An anonymous phone caller alerted Campus Security regarding an injured woman in a restroom in the Education Annex Dec. 5 at 8:30 p.m. Officers responding to the call didn't find the woman, but blood was discovered in the restroom area. The incident is being investigated. A wool coat valued at $125 was stolen from Hawthorne Dorm between Dec. 5-8. Three white male suspects were observed carrying a 2 5-foot spruce tree away from the vicinity of 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street Dec. 6 at 12:30 a.m. The tree was valued at $2,000. Oregon Daily Emerald An EMU bomb threat was phoned into the Eugene Police Department at 5:05 p.m. Dec. 6. The building was searched, but no bomb was found. A VCR and two movie cassettes rented from the University Bookstore Dec. 2 were reported stolen Saturday after they were not returned. The equipment was valued at $429. A lamppost valued at $500 was push ed over near the University Inn Satur day. Three white male suspects were observed near the scene, but no citations were issued. A bulletin board in Caswell Dorm was set afire on Saturday or Sunday. The wall was scorched and a light fixture was damaged. Police are investigating the in cident as felony arson. No damage estimate was determined. The Hamilton complex mail room was burglarized on Saturday or Sunday. Numerous mailboxes were broken into and mail was scattered about the room. Police are still compiling a list of stolen items. A camera and accessories valued at $1404 were stolen from a vehicle parked near Lawrence Hall Sunday between 7-8 p.m. A sanitary napkin dispenser in the Law School was broken into on Sunday or Monday. A small amount of change was stolen. Miniature sculptures, jewelry, pewter spoons and an undetermined amount of cash and checks were stolen from the Museum of Natural History giftshop bet ween Sunday and Monday. Estimated valued of the items was $400. Hai Thanh Tran, 19, a resident of Par sons Hall, was cited and released for shoplifting at the University Bookstore Monday. A suspect entered the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority Tuesday at 4:45 a.m. He entered a woman’s room and she awoke to find him standing naked near her bed. She threw things at him and he fled. He is described as a white male, 25-35 years old, 5 feet 9 inches, with a medium build and dark brown hair. Police said it was unknown how the man entered the house. A wallet and contents valued at $34 were stolen from the Main Library Tues day between noon and 2 p.m. The wallet was returned after it was found without the cash in a parking lot. Christina Elizabeth O’Connell, 18, 1504 E. 15th Ave., was cited and releas ed for shoplifting at the University Bookstore Wednesday. Two bicycles were stolen; none was recovered. Compiled by Kim Kaady Page 9A
